Politician releases chats, insists on bribery claims against Peter Obi, NDC

Kenneth Okonkwo, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, has presented alleged WhatsApp conversations as evidence to bolster his claims of bribery involving Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC). Okonkwo previously alleged that Obi and other NDC leaders in the South-East solicited N10 million and N20 million from House of Representatives and senatorial aspirants, respectively.

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Obunike Ohaegbu, when I questioned him to prove that Peter Obi was responsible for demanding the N10m from him and other HOR aspirants and N20m from the Senate aspirants, he made it clear that when he confronted the party on who authorised the payment, the party named Peter Obi and the caucus leaders who were assembled by Peter Obi.

Okonkwo shared the purported chats on his X account, stating they were provided by an aspirant, Obunike Ohaegbu, who also supplied a receipt. According to Okonkwo, when he questioned Ohaegbu about Obi's direct involvement, Ohaegbu reportedly stated that the party leadership named Peter Obi and assembled caucus leaders when asked who authorized the payments.

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My brother, the entire NDC project, at least from my personal experience, has left me feeling deceived and profoundly disappointed … While other states, particularly Kano and several states in the North, appeared to be engaged in negotiations and consultations aimed at achieving consensus, neither I nor, to the best of my knowledge, any aspirant from Anambra State was invited to any meeting for the purpose of negotiating or agreeing a consensus arrangement.

One of the shared excerpts, attributed to Ohaegbu, expresses feelings of deception and disappointment with the "NDC project." The message details a lack of consultation or negotiation for aspirants from Anambra State, contrasting it with perceived consensus-building in northern states. It questions how candidate lists were allegedly produced without such consultations, raising concerns about the process's integrity.

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Consequently, I mobilised my supporters and participated fully in the primary election process in the belief that the outcome would determine the party’s candidates. This naturally raises a fundamental question. If no consensus meeting was held with the aspirants in Anambra State, and no agreement was reached amongst those seeking nomination, my brother Ken, how did your friend arrive at the list of candidates that he allegedly produced at Johnwood Hotel in Abuja?

Peter Obi's legal team has responded by filing a lawsuit against Okonkwo. The legal team, led by Alex Ejesieme (SAN), issued a letter on June 9, 2026, demanding N5 billion in damages and a public apology. The letter also threatened further legal action and potentially higher damages if Okonkwo fails to meet these demands. The controversy centers on allegations of financial impropriety within the NDC's primary election process.

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Consensus, by its very nature, requires consultation, negotiation and agreement amongst stakeholders. Where there is no consultation, no negotiation and no agreement, there can be no consensus. If aspirants were directed to participate in primaries while candidate lists were allegedly being prepared elsewhere, then serious questions arise about the integrity of the entire process. If